Boats: Licensing

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether boatmasters working on the River Thames will be able to remain in service if they hold a licence valid until the end of 2011, irrespective of the outcome of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency's compulsory re-test.

Michael Penning: A boatmaster working on the Thames will be able to remain in service until the expiry of his or her current licence, regardless of whether he or her passes or fails the oral assessment associated with the Port of London Local Knowledge Endorsement for the revalidation of a Boatmaster's Licence (BML).

Railways

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the benefits of new high speed rail lines for communities beyond the reach of each proposed route.

Philip Hammond: The benefits arising from, firstly, through-services running off a London to West Midlands line onto the West Coast Main Line, and, secondly, of released capacity for destinations around and beyond the line are included in the detailed business case work undertaken by HS2 Ltd. in its report published in March 2010. This work is available at:
	www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/rail/pi/highspeedrail/hs2ltd
	A wider high speed rail network would have the potential to offer still more significant benefits of this nature.

Railways: Finance

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of the costs of High Speed 2 he expects to be met from European Union funds.

Philip Hammond: In considering their approach to the funding of a new high speed network, one of the Government's objectives will be to ensure that third party funding contributions are maximised. This may include contributions from European Union funding streams, in particular the Trans-European Networks programme, under which the Government expects funding for high speed rail projects to be a priority. However, it is unlikely that the level of European Union funding available will be sufficient to cover more than a small proportion of the overall costs of any new high speed line.

Thameslink

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will estimate the number of  (a) additional peak-time passengers to be transported and  (b) passenger hours to be saved as a result of the completion of the Thameslink programme.

Theresa Villiers: The appraisal of the Thameslink Programme forecasts that by 2026 there will be an additional 30,000 passengers carried on Thameslink services in each three-hour peak period. This equates to an overall saving of 18,500 passenger hours over each three-hour peak period.

Public Bodies: Reform

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what estimate she has made of the potential saving to the public purse of the reconstitution of the Darwin Advisory Committee as a committee of experts in each of the next five years;
	(2)  what estimate she has made of the potential saving to the public purse of the abolition of the Commons Commissioners in each of the next five years;
	(3)  what estimate she has made of the potential saving to the public purse of the abolition of the Committee on Agricultural Valuation in each of the next five years;
	(4)  what estimate she has made of the potential saving to the public purse of the abolition of the Commission for Rural Communities in each of the next five years;
	(5)  what estimate she has made of the potential saving to the public purse of the reconstitution of the Air Quality Expert Group as a committee of experts in each of the next five years;
	(6)  what estimate she has made of the potential saving to the public purse of the abolition of the Animal Health and Welfare Strategy England Implementation Group in each of the next five years;
	(7)  what estimate she has made of the potential saving to the public purse of the abolition of the Agricultural Wages Committee in each of the next five years;
	(8)  what estimate she has made of the potential saving to the public purse of the abolition of the Agricultural Wages Board for England and Wales in each of the next five years;
	(9)  what estimate she has made of the potential saving to the public purse of the abolition of the Agricultural Dwelling House Advisory Committees in each of the next five years;
	(10)  what estimate she has made of the potential saving to the public purse of the reconstruction of the Advisory Committee on Pesticides as a committee of experts;
	(11)  what estimate she has made of the potential saving to the public purse of the reconstitution of the Advisory Committee on Packaging as a committee of experts in each of the next five years;
	(12)  what estimate she has made of the potential saving to the public purse of the abolition of the Advisory Committee on Organic Standards in each of the next five years;
	(13)  what estimate she has made of the potential saving to the public purse of the reconstitution of the Advisory Committee on Hazardous Substances as a committee of experts in each of the next five years;
	(14)  what estimate she has made of the likely savings to the public purse arising from the abolition of Food from Britain in the next five financial years;
	(15)  what estimate she has made of the likely savings to the public purse arising from the abolition of the Inland Waterways Advisory Council in the next five financial years;
	(16)  what estimate she has made of the likely savings to the public purse arising from the reconstitution of the National Standing Committee on Farm Animal Genetic Resources as a committee of experts in the next five financial years;
	(17)  what estimate she has made of the likely savings to the public purse arising from the reconstitution of the Pesticide Residues Committee as a committee of experts in the next five financial years;
	(18)  what estimate she has made of the likely savings to the public purse arising from the abolition of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution in the next five financial years;
	(19)  what estimate she has made of the likely savings to the public purse arising from the abolition of the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee in the next five financial years;
	(20)  what estimate she has made of the likely savings to the public purse arising from the reconstitution of the Veterinary Residues Committee as a committee of experts in the next five financial years;
	(21)  what estimate she has made of the likely savings to the public purse arising from the reconstitution of the Zoos Forum as a committee of experts in the next five financial years;
	(22)  what estimate she has made of the potential savings to the public purse of the reconstitution of the Farm Animal Welfare Council as a committee of experts in the next five financial years;
	(23)  what estimate she has made of the likely savings to the public purse of the abolition of the Expert Panel on Air Quality Standards in the next five financial years.

Richard Benyon: Estimates we have made of savings to the public purse from changes to DEFRA's arm's length bodies over each of the next five years are given in the following table.
	The timescale for implementing the decisions on arm's length bodies announced by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, the right hon. Member for Horsham (Mr Maude) on 14 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 505-06, will vary for each body and depend on legislative or administrative processes.
	The proposed changes to DEFRA's arm's length bodies will contribute modest savings. The main benefits of the arm's length bodies reform proposals are to increase their transparency and accountability. Where bodies are to be reconstituted as expert committees we do not envisage significant financial savings to be generated.
	The 2011-12 budgets for the new committees have not been agreed and will be fixed in the light of the Government's spending review.
	
		
			  Body  Saving to public purse over each of the next five years 
			 Advisory Committee on Hazardous Substances Negligible-to be reconstituted as a committee of experts 
			 Advisory Committee on Organic Standards c£40,000 per year 
			 Advisory Committee on Packaging Negligible-to be reconstituted as a committee of experts 
			 Advisory Committee on Pesticides Negligible-to be reconstituted as a committee of experts 
			 Agricultural Dwelling House Advisory Committees c£13,000 per year 
			 Agricultural Wages Board for England and Wales Negligible-changes to include agricultural workers within the scope of national minimum wage legislation expected to be cost neutral 
			 Agricultural Wages Committee c£10,000 per year 
			 Air Quality Expert Group Negligible-to be reconstituted as a committee of experts 
			 Animal Health and Welfare Strategy England Implementation Group Not applicable-body already dissolved 
			 Commission for Rural Communities c£4.5 million of savings per year from 2011-12 but final figure to be determined through the spending review 
			 Committee on Agricultural Valuation Negligible-Committee has not sat for over 10 years 
			 Commons Commissioners Negligible-work of the Commons Commissioners has concluded 
			 Darwin Advisory Committee Negligible-to be reconstituted as a committee of experts 
			 Expert Panel on Air Quality Standards Not applicable-body already dissolved 
			 Farm Animal Welfare Council Negligible-to be reconstituted as a committee of experts 
			 Food from Britain Not applicable-body already dissolved 
			 Inland Waterways Advisory Council c£200,000 per year 
			 National Standing Committee on Farm Animal Genetic Resources Negligible-to be reconstituted as a committee of experts 
			 Pesticide Residues Committee Negligible-to be reconstituted as a committee of experts 
			 Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution c£300,000 per year 
			 Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee Negligible-functions to be transferred to Department of Health 
			 Veterinary Residues Committee Negligible-to be reconstituted as a committee of experts

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the likely effectiveness of the Government's strategy in Helmand province to December 2014.

Alistair Burt: Our objectives in Helmand province are closely coordinated with coalition partners and the Government of Afghanistan and are set out in the jointly-agreed Helmand Plan. Progress will continue to be monitored on a quarterly basis. We are currently working with our Afghan partners to develop a joint Helmand Inteqal (Transition) Plan for the period 2011-14. This plan will be an agreed strategy for taking Helmand to the point at which full responsibility for security will transfer to the Afghans. The plan will include milestones and mechanisms for measuring its effectiveness. There is clear evidence of progress already made in Helmand over recent months, particularly in central Helmand, for example in Lashkar Gah, Nawa and Garmsir.

British Nationals Abroad: Prisoners

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his most recent estimate is of the number of British citizens being held as  (a) prisoners and  (b) political prisoners in each country.

Jeremy Browne: The following table gives the latest detainee figures which show a snap shot of British nationals in detention whom we have assisted, as of 31 March 2010. We do not hold a separate figure for political prisoners.
	
		
			  Half-yearly detainee figures as at 31 March 2010 
			  Country  FCO post  Males  Female  Total 
			 Afghanistan Kabul 6 0 6 
			 Albania Tirana 3 0 3 
			 Algeria Algiers 1 0 1 
			 Angola Luanda 0 0 0 
			 Argentina Buenos Aires 9 3 12 
			 Armenia Yerevan 0 0 0 
			 Australia Sydney 111 3 114 
			  Brisbane 59 3 62 
			  Canberra 0 0 0 
			  Perth 18 2 20 
			  Melbourne 84 7 91 
			 Austria Vienna 3 1 4 
			 Azerbaijan Baku 1 0 1 
			 Bahrain Bahrain 2 0 2 
			 Bangladesh Dhaka 0 0 0 
			 Barbados Bridgetown 6 7 13 
			  St Vincent and the Grenadines 0 0 0 
			  St Kitts 1 0 1 
			  Antigua 5 0 5 
			  Grenada 1 5 6 
			  Dominica 1 0 1 
			 Belarus Minsk 0 0 0 
			 Belgium Brussels 12 0 12 
			 Belize Belmopan 0 0 0 
			 Bolivia La Paz 1 1 2 
			 Bosnia and Herzegovina Sarajevo 0 0 0 
			 Botswana Gaborone 0 0 0 
			 Brazil Brasilia 2 0 2 
			  Rio de Janeiro 8 4 12 
			  Sao Paulo 13 10 23 
			 Brunei Bandar Seri Begawan 0 0 0 
			 Bulgaria Sofia 1 0 1 
			 Burma Rangoon 0 0 0 
			 Cambodia Phnom Penh 8 0 8 
			 Cameroon Yaoundé 0 0 0 
			 Canada Ottawa 1 0 1 
			  Montreal 3 0 3 
			  Toronto 17 1 18 
			  Vancouver 12 0 12 
			 Chile Santiago 1 0 1 
			 China Beijing 2 0 2 
			  Chongqing 0 0 0 
			  Shanghai 3 0 3 
			  Guangzhou 1 1 2 
			  Hong Kong 15 4 19 
			 Colombia Bogota 4 0 4 
			  Cali 0 0 0 
			  Cartagena 0 0 0 
			  Medellin 0 0 0 
			 Congo (Democratic Rep) Kinshasa 1 0 1 
			 Costa Rica San José 3 0 3 
			 Croatia Zagreb 1 0 1 
			 Cuba Havana 0 0 0 
			 Cyprus Nicosia 11 0 11 
			 Czech Republic Prague 1 0 1 
			 Denmark Copenhagen 3 0 3 
			 Dominican Republic Santo Domingo 12 2 14 
			 Ecuador Quito 8 2 10 
			 Egypt Alexandria 0 0 0 
			  Cairo 21 3 24 
			 Eritrea Asmara 0 0 0 
			 Estonia Tallinn 2 0 2 
			 Ethiopia Addis Ababa 3 3 6 
			 Fiji Suva 1 0 1 
			 Finland Helsinki 1 0 1 
			 France Bordeaux 19 0 19 
			  Lille 37 0 37 
			  Lyon 6 1 7 
			  Marseille 13 0 13 
			  Paris 55 2 57 
			 Gambia Banjul 1 1 2 
			 Georgia Tbilisi 0 0 0 
			 Germany Berlin 56 1 57 
			  Dusseldorf 46 6 52 
			  Munich 14 1 15 
			 Ghana Accra 5 0 5 
			 Greece Athens 13 2 15 
			  Corfu 0 0 0 
			  Heraklion 1 0 1 
			  Rhodes 0 0 0 
			  Thessaloniki 0 0 0 
			  Zakynthos 0 0 0 
			 Guatemala Guatemala City 2 0 2 
			 Guyana Georgetown 3 3 6 
			  Suriname 1 1 2 
			 Hungary Budapest 1 0 1 
			 Iceland Reykjavik 0 0 0 
			 India Chennai 0 0 0 
			  Kolkata 0 0 0 
			  Mumbai 4 0 4 
			  New Delhi 8 0 8 
			  Goa 2 0 2 
			 Indonesia Jakarta 11 0 11 
			 Iran Tehran 1 1 2 
			 Iraq Baghdad 2 0 2 
			 Ireland Dublin 90 11 101 
			 Israel Tel Aviv 1 0 1 
			 Italy Florence 3 0 3 
			  Milan 9 2 11 
			  Naples 7 0 7 
			  Venice 3 0 3 
			  Rome 9 2 11 
			 Jamaica Kingston 41 24 65 
			 Japan Tokyo 16 3 19 
			  Osaka 10 0 10 
			 Jerusalem Jerusalem 0 0 0 
			 Jordan Amman 0 0 0 
			 Kazakhstan Almaty 0 0 0 
			 Kenya Nairobi 2 0 2 
			 Korea (North) Pyongyang 0 0 0 
			 Korea (South) Seoul 1 0 1 
			 Kuwait Kuwait city 8 3 11 
			 Latvia Riga 1 0 1 
			 Lebanon Beirut 0 1 1 
			 Libya Tripoli 0 0 0 
			 Lithuania Vilnius 0 0 0 
			 Luxembourg Luxembourg 3 0 3 
			 Macedonia Skopje 0 0 0 
			 Malawi Lilongwe 0 0 0 
			 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur 2 0 2 
			 Malta Valletta 8 1 9 
			 Mauritius Port Louis 0 0 0 
			 Mexico Mexico city 0 1 1 
			  Cancun 0 0 0 
			 Moldova Chisinau 0 0 0 
			 Mongolia Ulaanbaatar 1 0 1 
			 Montenegro Podgorica 1 0 1 
			 Morocco Rabat 3 0 3 
			  Marrakech 0 0 0 
			  Tangier 6 2 8 
			 Mozambique Maputo 0 0 0 
			 Namibia Windhoek 1 0 1 
			 Nepal Kathmandu 1 0 1 
			 Netherlands Amsterdam 32 1 33 
			 New Zealand Wellington 7 0 7 
			 Nigeria Lagos 0 0 0 
			 Norway Oslo 30 4 34 
			 Oman Muscat 5 0 5 
			 Pakistan Islamabad 25 0 25 
			  Karachi 2 0 2 
			 Panama Panama city 8 2 10 
			 Papua New Guinea Port Moresby 0 1 1 
			 Peru Lima 31 3 34 
			 Philippines Manila 19 0 19 
			 Poland Warsaw 3 0 3 
			 Portugal Lisbon 13 1 14 
			  Oporto 1 2 3 
			  Funchal 6 0 6 
			  Portimao 2 0 2 
			 Qatar Doha 4 0 4 
			 Romania Bucharest 4 0 4 
			 Russia Moscow 0 0 0 
			  St Petersburg 0 0 0 
			  Ekaterinburg 0 0 0 
			 Rwanda Kigali 0 0 0 
			 St Lucia Castries 4 0 4 
			 Saudi Arabia Riyadh 3 0 3 
			 Senegal Dakar 3 0 3 
			 Serbia Belgrade 3 0 3 
			  Pristina 0 0 0 
			 Seychelles Victoria 0 0 0 
			 Sierra Leone Freetown 1 0 1 
			 Singapore Singapore 4 0 4 
			 Slovakia Bratislava 1 0 1 
			 Slovenia Ljubljana 2 0 2 
			 Solomon Islands Honiara 0 0 0 
			 South Africa Cape town 6 1 7 
			  Pretoria 6 2 8 
			 Spain Alicante 36 2 38 
			  Barcelona 22 2 24 
			  Ibiza 9 0 9 
			  Las palmas 13 0 13 
			  Madrid 70 8 78 
			  Malaga 144 5 149 
			  Palma 18 0 18 
			  Tenerife 16 1 17 
			 Sri Lanka Colombo 4 0 4 
			 Sudan Khartoum 0 0 0 
			 Sweden Stockholm 22 2 24 
			 Switzerland Berne 6 0 6 
			  Geneva 3 0 3 
			 Syria Damascus 5 1 6 
			 Taiwan Taipei 18 0 18 
			 Tajikistan Dushanbe 0 0 0 
			 Tanzania Dar Es Salaam 1 0 1 
			 Thailand Bangkok 87 1 88 
			  Chiang Mai 2 0 2 
			  Laos 1 0 1 
			 Trinidad and Tobago Port of Spain 7 7 14 
			 Tunisia Tunis 2 1 3 
			 Turkey Ankara 3 0 3 
			  Bodrum 3 3 6 
			  Istanbul 4 5 9 
			  Izmir 1 0 1 
			  Antalya 3 0 3 
			  Marmaris 2 0 2 
			  Fethiye 0 0 0 
			 Turkmenistan Ashgabat 0 0 0 
			 Uganda Kampala 0 0 0 
			 Ukraine Kiev 0 0 0 
			 United Arab Emirates Abu Dhabi 18 1 19 
			  Dubai 33 3 36 
			 USA Atlanta 61 7 68 
			  Boston 31 2 33 
			  Chicago 32 4 36 
			  Houston 84 4 88 
			  Los Angeles 95 6 101 
			  New York 87 8 95 
			  Orlando 89 18 107 
			  San Francisco 79 8 87 
			  Washington 32 5 37 
			 Uruguay Montevideo 0 0 0 
			 Uzbekistan Tashkent 1 0 1 
			 Venezuela Caracas 11 3 14 
			 Vietnam Hanoi 1 1 2 
			 Yemen Sanaa 1 0 1 
			 Zambia Lusaka 0 0 0 
			 Zimbabwe Harare 0 0 0 
			 Total 219 2,393 256 2,649

Diplomatic Immunity

David Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many foreign  (a) diplomatic staff and  (b) members of the household of such staff his Department had been granted diplomatic immunity on the latest date for which figures are available.

Alistair Burt: The foreign diplomatic community in the UK numbers around 25,000, inclusive of dependants.

Henderson Island

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent steps his Department has taken to preserve biodiversity on Henderson Island.

Henry Bellingham: The UK Government are aware of the challenges the Overseas Territories face in their responsibility to preserve their biodiversity, and we work alongside Overseas Territory Governments to provide support and assistance in areas where they need help.
	On Henderson Island, the UK Government are working closely with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), the Pitcairn Government and others to eradicate rats and on 18 October the RSPB announced plans to proceed with a rat eradication programme in the summer of 2011. The Overseas Territories Environment Programme has provided £188,000 of funding to RSPB since 2007 for work towards the eradication of rats from Henderson and a further £103,000 has been committed for the implementation phase. In addition to this, I recently co-hosted with the RSPB a reception in support of Henderson Island World Heritage Site, providing them with a prestigious venue to present to potential donors.

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which programmes and projects he has funded to raise awareness of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child overseas in the last five years.

Jeremy Browne: There are a number of funding sources within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office which support the promotion of human rights around the world. This includes the Strategic Programme Fund for Human Rights and Democracy, which has as one of its key objectives the supporting of programmes and projects which promote the rights of the child. Many of our missions overseas use their Bilateral Programme Budget funds to promote the rights of children within their host countries. However, we do not centrally record specific child related projects that raise awareness of the convention as distinct from other objectives.
	The UK also currently provides over £2.5 million in voluntary contributions to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Some of this funding is used by the Office to support their work in monitoring and implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Fuel Poverty: West Midlands

Chris White: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent estimate he has made of the number and proportion of households in Warwick and Leamington constituency in fuel poverty where all members of the household are over the age of 65 years.

Gregory Barker: Sub-regional fuel poverty figures are not available split by age.
	The most recently available sub-regional split of fuel poverty relates to 2006, and shows that there were around 6,600 fuel poor households across all age groups in the Warwick and Leamington constituency. This represents around 14% of all households.

Intelligence Services: Northern Ireland

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 11 October 2010,  Official Report, column 516W, on the intelligence services, on what date each meeting at ministerial level was held in the last 12 months; and who attended each such meeting.

Owen Paterson: The interface between my national security responsibilities and the responsibilities of the Minister of Justice is facilitated by regular meetings between us. Representatives of the PSNI also attend. They have taken place on 19 May, 18 June, 27 July and 20 September 2010. They are supplemented by ad hoc consultation and information exchange as and when required.

Convention on the Rights of a Child

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether the Commission on a British Bill of Rights will consider the extent to which children's rights under the Convention on the Rights of a Child are protected in UK law.

Kenneth Clarke: The Government will make a statement to Parliament on the scope of the Commission on a Bill of Rights in due course.

Departmental Disciplinary Proceedings

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many officials in his Department have been  (a) subject to disciplinary action,  (b) removed from post,  (c) transferred to another position and  (d) dismissed for matters relating to their (i) disciplinary record and (ii) performance in each year since its inception.

Kenneth Clarke: The following table provides the numbers of MoJ and NOMS staff that have been dismissed from March 2007 to March 2010 and the reason for dismissal.
	
		
			  Dismissals  March 2007 to March 2008  April 2008 to March 2009  April 2009 to March 2010 
			 Capability 68 94 93 
			 Conduct 278 182 223 
			 Made redundant 3 32 1 
			 Other dismissals 164 239 236 
		
	
	The following figures provide the numbers of NOMS staff that have been regraded, as a result of disciplinary actions. Please note that NOMS are only able to provide this data from January 2009.
	From 1 January 2009 to 31 March 2009 a total of four employees were downgraded/regraded of 359 employees who underwent conduct and disciplinary proceeding.
	From 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2010 a total of 16 employees were downgraded/regraded of 891 employees who underwent conduct and disciplinary proceeding.

Departmental Sick Leave

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many days his Department has lost to staff sickness in each year since its inception; and what estimate he made of the cost to his Department of sickness absence in each such year.

Kenneth Clarke: The days lost in the Ministry of Justice due to staff sickness in each year since its inception, were:
	
		
			  April to March each year  Total days lost 
			 2007-08 794,078 
			 2008-09 731,042 
			 2009-10 749,723 
		
	
	The estimated cost, to the Ministry of Justice, for the days lost in each year since it inception is:
	
		
			  April to March each year  Estimated cost (£ million) 
			 2007-08 87.1 
			 2008-09 84.4 
			 2009-10 88.9

Prisoners: Education

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department spent on education services for prisoners in each year since 1997.

Crispin Blunt: Education services for prisoners are funded by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), devolved to the Skills Funding Agency, formerly the Learning and Skills Council (LSC).
	The Learning and Skills Council assumed responsibility for planning and funding the integrated Offender Learning and Skills Service (OLASS) in England on 31 July 2006. OLASS funds the delivery of skills for offenders (aged 15 and over) held in English Public Sector prisons for both sentenced prisoners and those held on remand.
	In Wales, from April 2006, commissioning responsibilities for offender learning and skills provision became the responsibility of Director of Offender Management in Wales. Responsibilities for learning and skills provision for those in custody in Wales transferred to the Welsh Assembly Government with effect from 1 April 2009.
	Data is available on spend since 2001. The following Table 1 includes spend directly relating to the OLASS provision and also spend associated with the employment of Heads of Learning and Skills in prisons, Libraries and Higher Education in public sector prisons in England and Wales.
	
		
			  Table 1 
			   Total spend (£ million) 
			 2001-02 57 
			 2002-03 73 
			 2003-04 116 
			 2004-05 126 
			 2005-06 151 
			 2006-07 156 
			 2007-08 161 
			 2008-09 171 
			 2009-10 181 
		
	
	£29 million of the growth between 2005-06 and 2009-10 (inclusive) was as a result of additional education allocations to support the places flowing from the prison Capacity Programme.
	The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) provides both physical resources and staff to support educational activities for prisoners. It is not possible to separately identify these costs which are not held centrally.
	Training for prisoners is undertaken, mainly by Prison Service staff, while prisoners work or are engaged in various areas such as prison industries, catering, physical education, land based activities, industrial cleaning and laundries. The central costs of the training elements of these, mainly production functions, are not kept centrally.
	NOMS gained co-financing organisation status in January 2009 and successfully bid for a total of £50 million of European Social Funding to enhance the skills and employment services to offenders in prison and the community. NOMS has been granted the funding over 27 months to increase offenders' employability and improve their access to mainstream support provision. Funding has been extended into a second phase up to 2013.

Prisoners: Education

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners were engaged in education services in each year since 1997; and what the average cost to the public purse per prisoner was of providing such services.

Crispin Blunt: The information requested is not held.
	The Skills Funding Agency is able to provide information on the number of learners engaged in learning and skills provision funded by the Skills Funding Agency, (formerly the Learning and Skills Council) from the Individualised Learner Records (ILR), and the budget allocated by DfES/DIUS/YJB in the 2006/07 academic year (August 2006 to July 2007), in the 2007/08 academic year (August 2007 to July 2008) and in the 2008/09 academic year (August 2008 to July 2009).
	In the 2006/07 academic year, there were 92,371 learners engaged in learning and skills provision, funded by the Learning and Skills Council and the total budget allocated for the same period was £123 million(1). The average cost per learner was £1,327.
	In the 2007/08 academic year, there were 115,807 learners engaged in learning and skills provision in custody, funded by the Learning and Skills Council and the total budget allocated for the same period was £142 million(1). The average cost per learner was £1,224.
	In the 2008/09 academic year, there were 98,324 learners engaged in learning and skills provision in custody funded by the Learning and Skills Council and the total budget allocated for the same period was £160 million(1). The average cost per learner was £1,631.
	(1)( )Direct Offenders Learning and Skills Service (OLASS) spend only. This does not include libraries, Heads of Learning and Skills and associated costs.
	 Note:
	The number of learners and the Offenders' Learning and Skills budget identified includes those for Young Offenders aged 15-17. The Offenders Learning and Skills budget also includes spends on Information Advice and Guidance (IAG) service which was an integral part of OLASS contracts.

Prisoners: Food

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department spent on food and refreshment services for prisoners  (a) in total,  (b) per prisoner per meal and  (c) per prisoner per day in each year since 1997.

Crispin Blunt: The full cost of providing meals and beverages for prisoners in public sector prisons in England and Wales includes a number of elements. These include staff and prisoner labour, food, training (staff and prisoner), kitchen and servery facilities, utilities and other overheads, including management overheads, and all of these costs are not collected centrally.
	It is however possible to separately identify the cost of food (including beverages-see Table 1. Responsibility for determining the establishment food budget lies with the governing Governor who will set aside a realistic sum that will meet the dietary needs of the population of the establishment.
	Prisons provide breakfast, lunch and dinner together with all condiments and beverages. The estimated average food cost per meal per prisoner is based on the understanding that breakfast, lunch and dinner account for approximately 20%, 40% and 40% of the daily food expenditure. But these percentages will vary from one establishment to another and are for illustrative purposes only.
	
		
			  Table 1 
			(£) 
			Per prisoner per meal (for illustration only)  
			  Year ending 31 March  Estimated total( 1)   (£ million)  Breakfast  Lunch  Dinner  Estimated average daily food expenditure per prisoner( 1) 
			 2010 60 0.44 0.88 0.88 2.20 
			 2009 62 0.46 0.92 0.92 2.31 
			 2008 56 0.42 0.85 0.85 2.12 
			 2007 51 0.39 0.79 0.79 1.97 
			 2006 49 0.39 0.77 0.77 1.93 
			 2005 43 0.36 0.73 0.73 1.87 
			 2004 45 0.36 0.72 0.72 1.81 
			 2003 42 0.34 0.69 0.69 1.72 
			 2002 40 0.35 0.70 0.70 1.74 
			 2001 34 0.33 0.66 0.66 1.64 
			 2000 35 0.29 0.58 0.58 1.46 
			 1999 35 0.29 0.58 0.58 1.44 
			 1998 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 1997 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 n/a = Not available. (1) The data has been calculated using available management information from the NOMS finance systems and assumes that all transactions have been allocated and recorded against the correct accounting codes.

Prisoners: Interviews

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will bring forward proposals to enable prisoners to give media interviews; and if he will make a statement.

Crispin Blunt: It is currently possible for prisoners to have access to journalists in order to give interviews but these are conducted under very strict conditions and only in exceptional circumstances, as set out in Prison Service Instruction 37/2010 which is available in the Library of the House and on the Prison Service website.

Departmental Sick Leave

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for how many days on average his Department's staff in each pay grade were absent from work as a result of ill health in 2009-10.

Andrew Robathan: Sickness absence rates by average working days lost (AWDL) per full-time equivalent (FTE) employee in the Ministry of Defence for the 12 months ending 30 June 2010, the latest information available, are shown in the following table.
	The table includes non-industrial and industrial staff and the staff of the four MOD trading funds, but excludes staff in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary and locally engaged civilians for whom sickness absence data are not readily available.
	
		
			  FTE rates( 1, 2) 
			  Grade (equivalent)( 3)  July 2009  to  30 June 2010 
			 AA 11.61 
			 AO 9.75 
			 HO 7.84 
			 HEO 5.64 
			 SEO 5.12 
			 G7 3.86 
			 G6 2.83 
			 SCS 2.17 
			 Unknown 4.16 
			 (1) Data presented reflects the current Cabinet Office definition, setting a maximum absence of 225 days per person, and excludes data for weekends, annual leave and bank holidays. Excludes staff who have been classed as on zero pay. (2) Average working days lost per full-time equivalent are calculated by dividing the total working days lost for each period by a weighted average of the first of the month strengths for the period, with the strengths at 1 January at the start and end of the period receiving a weighting of 0.5, and the strengths at the first of the other months in the period a weighting of 1. (3) Equivalent civil service grades have been used to amalgamate the various MOD non-industrial, industrial and trading fund grades. 
		
	
	The MOD is committed to reducing sickness absence and occupational health advice and support is available to all employees and their line managers. Guidance and training is available to line managers on managing absence; we actively encourage the use of return to work interviews and have trigger points in place for the commencement of management action. We are currently reviewing all of our absence policies.

Mental Illnesses

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the recommendations relating to his Department of the report by the Government Office for Science, Foresight on Mental Capital and Wellbeing; if he will ensure that his Department's policy development process takes account of psychological research into subjective wellbeing; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 21 October 2010
	In addition to the wider approach taken by the Department of Health, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, and the NHS, the report's relevance to the Ministry of Defence civilian staff relates, in the main, to policies to improve well-being at work, employee support, flexible working, training and development, managing sickness absence, and providing meaningful jobs. The Department already has robust policies in place for these areas.
	The Department also has a wide range of measures in place to monitor and manage the mental health and well-being of military personnel. Research by the Academic Centre for Defence Mental Health confirms that personnel benefit greatly by being within well-led units with good support from their colleagues, and managing this is a key chain of command responsibility.
	The Defence Medical Services deploy uniformed mental health staff on major operations to provide advice, assessment and care to personnel in theatre. In the UK. community-based mental health care is available at 15 MOD-run regional Departments of Community Mental Health (plus centres overseas), while in-patient care, when necessary, is provided in specialist NHS mental health facilities.
	We are always looking for ways in which our mental health services can be extended, and a report into the provision of mental health support to the armed forces and ex-service personnel (commissioned by the Prime Minister from Dr Andrew Murrison MP) was published earlier this month. This makes a wide-ranging number of recommendations that the MOD and Department of Health will be looking to introduce. Two of the key recommendations are due to be introduced immediately: a dedicated 24-hour support line for veterans, and the placing of 30 dedicated mental health nurses in mental health trusts to ensure the right support is organised specifically for veterans.

Departmental Pay

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what allowances and payments in addition to salary were available to officials in his Department in each year since 1997; and what the monetary value was of payments and allowances of each type in each such year.

Alan Duncan: Details of the allowances payable in addition to salary, together with the total value of each payment type from 2004-05 are included in the following tables. The figures provided do not include payments to cover the reimbursement of business expenses nor the reimbursement of education fees. Where the total number of staff concerned are less then five, we are unable to provide more specific data as this could potentially identify the individuals involved and so breach confidentiality. Information prior to 2004-05 cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.
	
		
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			  Payment description  Total (£)  Number of recipients  Total (£)  Number of recipients  Total (£)  Number of recipients 
			 Performance related pay 872,540 1,716 824,438 1,116 1,014,215 1,223 
			 Overseas cost of living allowance 905,052 570 1,564,780 715 2,253,622 747 
			 Overseas hardship allowance 1,362,679 587 1,985,124 728 2,900,101 754 
			 Overseas relocation allowances 367,955 237 348,025 210 522,789 270 
			 Representation allowances 168,698 297 165,010 317 251,682 364 
			 Overseas maintenance allowance 58,661 125 50,358 123 58,110 122 
			 Market allowances 322,466 235 391,032 237 393,243 231 
			 Foreign language allowance 5,039 5 1,172 (1)- 858 (1)- 
			 On call allowance 8,666 28 26,543 45 43,749 49 
			 Inner London dispersal 475 (1)- 456 (1)- 456 (1)- 
			 Hazardous locations allowance 30,536 46 69,709 65 91,362 61 
			 Fire warden and evacuation pay 1,450 29 1,650 32 4,183 84 
			 Footwear allowance 442 9 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			   2007 -0 8  200 8 -0 9  200 9 - 10 
			  Payment description  Total (£)  Number of recipients  Total (£)  Number of recipients  Total (£)  Number of recipients 
			 Performance related pay 1,334,953 1,648 670,978 79 1,426,279 1,443 
			 Overseas cost of living allowance 2,160,074 785 3,055,481 802 3,748,731 801 
			 Overseas hardship allowance 3,117,035 788 3,485,680 800 3,624,147 797 
			 Overseas relocation allowances 551,788 279 555,462 275 528,589 244 
			 Representation allowances 261,238 353 242,583 340 199,253 309 
			 Overseas maintenance allowance 58,088 139 59,184 126 43,144 90 
			 Market allowances 358,421 210 322,108 168 322,343 171 
			 Foreign language allowance 1,223 (1)- 910 (1)- 858 (1)- 
			 On call allowance 57,784 47 74,090 76 76,038 69 
			 Inner London dispersal 228 (1)- 228 (1)- 228 (1)- 
			 Hazardous locations allowance 78,930 48 83,774 43 98,504 67 
			 Fire warden and evacuation pay 5,000 97 4,400 88 4,050 81 
			 Footwear allowance 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 (1) Data withheld where the number of recipients are less than 5.

Departmental Sick Leave

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many officials in his Department have had  (a) fewer than five days,  (b) five to 10 days, (c) 10 to 15 days,  (d) 15 to 20 days,  (e) 20 to 25 days,  (f) 25 to 50 days,  (g) 50 to 75 days,  (h) 75 to 100 days,  (i) 100 to 150 days,  (j) 150 to 200 days,  (k) more than 200 days,  (l) more than three months,  (m) more than six months and  (n) one year on paid sick leave (i) consecutively and (ii) it total in each year since 1997.

Alan Duncan: Details of the number of Department for International Development (DFID) staff who have had total annual sick absences within the ranges requested, in each financial years since 2007-08, are provided as follows. Information on the number of consecutive absences and details prior to 2007-08 cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate cost, sufficient
	
		
			  Sickness absence periods  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10 
			 Fewer than five days 560 299 318 
			 Five to 10 days 198 139 148 
			 10 to 15 days 78 61 64 
			 15 to 20 days 33 34 33 
			 20 to 25 days 14 21 22 
			 25 to 50 days 51 40 42 
			 50 to 75 days 15 22 20 
			 75 to 100 days 10 6 6 
			 100 to 150 days 7 7 9 
			 150 to 200 days 2 4 5 
			 More than 200 days 4 7 2 
			 More than 3 months 32 28 25 
			 More than 6 months 6 14 11 
			 More than 1 year 4 4 1

Developing Countries: Maternity Services

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 14 September 2010,  Official Report, column 920W, on developing countries: maternity services, what datasets his Department collects on its maternal and newborn health programmes in each  (a) region and  (b) country.

Stephen O'Brien: In order to assess the effectiveness of our programmes to improve maternal and newborn health, the Department for International Development (DFID) draws on national data and statistics, as well as data and statistics collected by DFID's partners, including agencies such as the GAVI Alliance and the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.
	At the global level, DFID also draws on data from the United Nations Statistics Division's Millennium Development Goal (MDG) database, to assess progress against MDGs 4 and 5, pertaining to maternal and child health.
	This data is also informing the ongoing Bilateral and Multilateral Aid Reviews.

Overseas Aid

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much funding his Department has allocated to support  (a) food aid programmes and  (b) agricultural development in each country in (i) sub-Saharan Africa and (ii) Asia in each of the last five years.

Stephen O'Brien: Details of the Department for International Development's (DFID) expenditure are published annually in Statistics on International Development (SID) which is available on the DFID website and in the Library of the House. The relevant figures are reproduced as follows.
	
		
			  (a) DFID bilateral expenditure on food aid in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia 
			  £000 
			   2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10 
			  (i) Sub-Saharan Africa:  
			 Burundi - 2,640 - - - 
			 Chad - 524 - - - 
			 Eritrea -4 - -243 - - 
			 Ethiopia 386 464 182 20,744 13,700 
			 Guinea - - 155 40 - 
			 Kenya - - 215 165 12 
			 Lesotho 584 607 471 644 406 
			 Liberia 163 124 - - - 
			 Malawi 710 867 177 - 1,506 
			 Niger - - 183 39 - 
			 Somalia - - - - 65 
			 South Africa 526 1,138 1,326 - - 
			 Sudan 740 936 747 - - 
			 Swaziland - - 1,722 798 - 
			 Uganda - 2,000 9,500 8,000 - 
			 Zambia 4,370 569 447 831 36 
			 Zimbabwe 2,510 5,852 10,808 10,594 1,538 
			 South of Sahara regional 16 - - - - 
			   
			  (ii) Asia:  
			 Afghanistan - - 3,000 - - 
			 Bangladesh 6,745 790 3,891 4,320 5,225 
			 Burma 178 371 764 659 1,871 
			 India 414 117 110 319 271 
			 Nepal - - 317 - - 
			 Pakistan - - 74 - - 
			 Vietnam 596 2,039 734 123 -243 
			 Yemen - - 457 1,710 1,495 
			 Asia regional 32 - -35 - 558 
		
	
	
		
			  (b) DFID bilateral expenditure on agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia 
			  £000 
			   2005- 06  2006- 07  2007- 08  2008- 09  2009- 10 
			  (i) Sub-Saharan Africa:  
			 Botswana - 35 - - - 
			 Congo, Dem Rep - - - 698 59 
			 Ethiopia 544 23 15,492 4,204 21,378 
			 Gambia -18 - - - - 
			 Ghana 4,632 1,045 3,008 2,723 1,839 
			 Kenya 1,049 1,421 472 110 -16 
			 Lesotho 364 306 150 155 99 
			 Liberia - 280 - - - 
			 Madagascar 22 18 16 - - 
			 Malawi 723 2,546 2,529 2,547 1,615 
			 Mozambique 364 491 331 427 583 
			 Namibia 596 289 - - - 
			 Nigeria 3,021 2,609 1,835 1,039 1,037 
			 Rwanda 282 1,995 1,394 1,090 3,230 
			 Sierra Leone - 17 16 79 6 
			 Somalia - 500 - 735 123 
			 South Africa 599 463 292 259 - 
			 Southern Africa Development Community 50 100 - - - 
			 St Helena 22 40 14 4 123 
			 Sudan - - - 3,213 9,290 
			 Swaziland - 89 1 - - 
			 Tanzania 4 80 164 221 54 
			 Uganda 305 98 90 304 239 
			 Zambia 43 55 59 35 13 
			 Zimbabwe - - 25 2,747 4,419 
			 South of Sahara regional 192 110 279 104 6,950 
			   
			  (ii) Asia:  
			 Afghanistan 3,408 12,938 3,212 22,308 14,498 
			 Bangladesh 9,815 13,341 15,675 18,857 17,450 
			 Burma 284 566 540 689 2,064 
			 Cambodia 1,851 2,291 1,245 2,397 3,369 
			 China 2,877 2,707 2,525 3,718 2,980 
			 East Timor 150 154 150 - - 
			 India 16,105 22,545 20,241 19,646 16,809 
			 Indonesia - 34 47 34 6 
			 Kazakhstan 117 - - - - 
			 Kyrgyzstan 469 674 620 1,240 496 
			 Nepal 5,409 5,096 5,148 9,772 10,734 
			 Pakistan 1,372 1,790 4,384 1,569 3,264 
			 Philippines - - 1 1 1 
			 Sri Lanka 17 31 23 42 33 
			 Tajikistan 499 598 545 847 741 
			 Vietnam 12,393 4,641 3,951 1,193 2,414 
			 Yemen - - - 576 1,736 
			 Asia regional 104 - - 25 44

Sri Lanka: Armed Conflict

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he has had with the Sri Lankan Government on the return of Tamils to their homes.

Alan Duncan: Ministers have not had any discussions with the Sri Lankan Government regarding the return of Tamils to their homes. However, the British high commissioner in Colombo discusses this issue regularly with the Government of Sri Lanka, to encourage the Sri Lankan authorities to allow those people who remain in camps for internally displaced people to return to their home areas as soon as possible.

Alcoholic Drinks: Prices

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she plans to take to implement her proposal to prohibit the sale of alcohol below cost price following the consultation on Re-balancing the Licensing Act 2003; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: The Government are committed to banning the sale of alcohol below cost price. We are considering all options and plan to introduce this measure at the earliest opportunity without unduly impacting on industry or responsible drinkers.

Border Controls: France

Phil Woolas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had with the French government on the border controls at  (a) Calais,  (b) Gare du Nord and  (c) Charles de Gaulle airport.

Damian Green: The UK holds regular discussions, at both ministerial and official level, with the French authorities on the issue of border controls at French ports, including Calais. My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary and I have both met with French counterparts to discuss migration issues, including the juxtaposed controls and wider bilateral co-operation, and it is expected that agreement will soon be reached on the next phase of UK-France collaboration at the border controls at Calais and other northern ports.
	The Secretary of State has not held any recent discussions with the French Government on border controls at Paris Gare du Nord or Charles de Gaulle airport. The UK Border Agency operates immigration controls at Gare du Nord where UK Border Agency officials are in regular contact with their French counterparts about matters of mutual interest and to ensure the security of the UK border. No rail services operate to the UK from Charles de Gaulle Airport and there is no UK border control at the location.

Criminal Records: East Sussex

Amber Rudd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people  (a) nationally and  (b) resident in Hastings and Rye constituency have been subject to more than one Criminal Records Bureau check within 12 months during the latest period for which figures are available.

Lynne Featherstone: The data provided in the following table represents all applications received by the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) within the period 1 October 2009 to 30 September 2010 inclusive.
	
		
			  1  October  2009 to 30  September  2010  Applications received by CRB  More than one application received for applicant at same postcode  Percentage 
			 All Applications 4,422,102 526,899 11.9 
			 Hastings and Rye Applications 10,197 1,173 11.5 
		
	
	The data represents where more than one application has been received where the applicant has the same postcode. It excludes applications received prior 1 October 2009 and applications received by post on 30 Sept 2010.
	These cases will include where the applicant has applied for different posts.

Extradition

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many UK citizens have been  (a) extradited and  (b) transferred to face criminal proceedings in each other EU member state in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how many applications for UK citizens to be  (a) extradited and  (b) transferred to face criminal proceedings in each other EU member state in each year since 1997 were successful;
	(3)  how many applications for UK citizens to be extradited to face criminal proceedings were made by each non-EU state in each year since 1997; and how many such applications were successful.

Nick Herbert: Since 1 January 2004, extradition between EU member states has been governed by the Framework Decision on the European Arrest Warrant (EAW). The Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) and Crown Office (for Scotland) are the designated central authorities for the receipt and transmission of EAWs within the UK. Under the EAW process "surrender" is used to describe "extradited" and "transferred".
	Since the inception of the EAW on 1 January 2004 up to 31 March 2010, 145 UK citizens have been surrendered to other European member states pursuant to EAWs. Information on the member state that issued the EAW is available for the period 1 October 2008 to 31 March 2010. It should be noted that surrenders do not correlate to the requests made in the same period. Some surrenders can occur weeks or months following the initial request. The following tables identify the member states that made the request.
	Data on the member states which have issued EAWs for 101 UK citizens surrendered in the period prior to 1 October 2008 is unavailable. This data could be provided only by a manual examination of all SOCA case records for that period. This would incur a disproportionate cost.
	The nationality of persons subject to extradition requests from EU member states was not routinely recorded prior to 2004. To provide the figures for 1997 to 2004 would incur disproportionate cost as this would require a manual examination of Home Office files.
	The third table shows the number of extradition requests made to England and Wales (and Northern Ireland since 1 April 2008) and processed by the Home Office since 1997. Due to the way in which extradition requests have been recorded by the Home Office, the following information will include all requests made outside the EAW framework. It will therefore include some requests made by EU member states prior to them operating the EAW. It has not been possible to break down these numbers so as to identify either the person's nationality or the state which requested extradition as this would entail a manual examination of all files, which would again incur disproportionate cost.
	Finally, it should also be emphasised that an extradition request is not always finalised in the same year as a request is made. The figures quoted may, therefore, include extradition requests made before 1997.
	
		
			  October 2008 to March 2009, British Nationals, EAW cases and surrenders 
			  Requesting country  Requests  Surrenders 
			 Cyprus 1 0 
			 France 5 0 
			 Germany 5 0 
			 Greece 2 0 
			 Hungary 2 0 
			 Ireland 2 0 
			 Italy 2 0 
			 Lithuania 1 0 
			 Netherlands 7 2 
			 Romania 1 0 
			 Spain 6 1 
			 Total 34 3 
		
	
	
		
			  Business year 2009-10, British Nationals, EAW cases and surrenders 
			  Requesting country  Requests  Surrenders 
			 Belgium 8 1 
			 Cyprus 1 3 
			 Finland 1 0 
			 France 20 5 
			 Germany 27 2 
			 Greece 11 1 
			 Hungary 1 1 
			 Ireland 9 4 
			 Italy 6 0 
			 Latvia 0 1 
			 Lithuania 2 0 
			 Luxembourg 1 1 
			 Malta 1 2 
			 Netherlands 29 8 
			 Poland 2 1 
			 Portugal 3 0 
			 Slovenia 3 0 
			 Spain 31 11 
			 Sweden 1 0 
			 Total 157 41 
		
	
	
		
			  Extradition requests received, 1997 to 2009 
			   Requests received  Surrendered  Not returned 
			 1997 107 43 27 
			 1998 111 45 45 
			 1999 101 38 25 
			 2000 78 47 28 
			 2001 133 55 42 
			 2002 137 53 54 
			 2003 114 55 39 
			 2004 99 50 41 
			 2005 54 62 37 
			 2006 64 45 38 
			 2007 49 29 25 
			 2008 57 17 18 
			 2009 81 38 31 
		
	
	It is not possible precisely to tally the number of requests received with the number of those extradited or not returned (whether discharged by the courts or Secretary of State, withdrawn by the requesting state etc.) in a defined period for a number of reasons. At any one stage there are a number of active extradition requests under consideration which will not count as either surrendered or not returned until they have been finalised.
	Additionally there may be a small number of people, subject to extradition proceedings, who for example have absconded, are serving a domestic sentence, or have not been arrested but remain wanted. These cases also cannot be closed until a final outcome has been reached. A further complicating factor is that some of the return figures will relate to requests made before the start of the defined period.

Immigration

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 14 October 2010,  Official Report, column 403W, on immigration, from what countries of origin those people normally resident in the Peterborough City Council area who  (a) applied for and  (b) were granted indefinite leave to remain.

Damian Green: All the data requested have been placed in the Library of the House of Commons.
	The UK Border Agency is unable to provide definitive data on the applicants address at the time of application. The information provided is therefore the applicants last known address.
	The data in the Library of the House of Commons list applications made for indefinite leave from April 2009 to March 2010 for applicants living in the Peterborough city council area.
	This is internal management information and is subject to change. This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols.

Immigration: Kettering

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applicants for indefinite leave to remain in the UK had their last known address in  (a) the borough of Kettering and  (b) Northamptonshire in the latest period for which figures are available; how many such applicants were successful and of which nationalities the applicants were.

Damian Green: holding answer 21 October 2010
	The UK Border Agency is unable to provide definitive data on the applicants address at the time of application. The information provided is therefore the applicants last known address.
	The following table lists applications made for indefinite leave from April 9 to March 10 for applicants living in the borough of Kettering and in Northamptonshire. It also shows the number of these applicants that were subsequently granted.
	
		
			   2009  2010  
			   Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sept  Oct  Nov  De c  Jan  Feb  March  Total 
			  Kettering  
			 Number of applications made 10 16 17 16 13 12 4 5 9 9 21 8 140 
			 Number of these applications granted 9 11 13 15 12 11 4 5 7 9 18 6 120 
			   
			  Northamptonshire  
			 Number of applications made 104 100 106 115 88 86 50 40 81 97 103 116 1086 
			 Number of these applications granted 82 75 88 102 72 77 44 36 65 84 84 94 903 
		
	
	This is internal management information and is subject to change. This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols.
	A full breakdown of the above by nationality can be found in the Library of the House of Commons (supplied in Annex A, B, C and D of background note).

Passports: Islamabad

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many passports are being held at the embassy in  (a) Islamabad and  (b) Abu Dhabi pending return to visa applicants.

Damian Green: holding answer 18 October 2010
	I am pleased to report that the Pakistan visa operation has performed well throughout this summer, with the majority of applications being processed within UK Border Agency customer service standards.
	The UK Border Agency aims to process 90% of non-settlement applications within 15 working days, 98% within six weeks and 100% within 12 weeks. For settlement applications, the target is to process 95% within 12 weeks and 100% within 24 weeks. Actual processing times for applications resolved during August that were lodged, for example, at the visa application centre in Islamabad, are shown in the following table. The most popular types of visa application are included in the table. Details of processing times for other categories of application, and for processing times for applications lodged at the other visa application centres in Pakistan, can be found on the following website:
	www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk
	
		
			  Percentage 
			   Processing time 
			weeks 
			  Application type  15 (days)  6  12  24 
			 Family visit 80 91 98 99 
			 PBS Tier 4 90 94 97 99 
			 Settlement 67 78 92 98 
		
	
	As of 14 October, the Islamabad operation has 715 live applications for non-settlement UK visas pending decision and 3,236 in respect of settlement applications, while the Abu Dhabi operation has 1,958 live applications for UK visas pending decision. The figure for Abu Dhabi includes 393 passports held pending the processing of applications from the Gulf.
	This information is based on Management Information. It is provisional and subject to change.

Work Permits

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many grants of settlement have been made  (a) on the basis of employment with a work permit and  (b) to (i) spouses and (ii) dependants of those granted settlement on the basis of employment with a work permit in each of the last eight quarters for which figures are available.

Damian Green: The latest available quarterly statistics (Q3 2008 to Q2 2010) are provided in the following table.
	Data on grants of settlement made on the basis of employment with a work permit to both principal applicants and spouses and dependants combined are published in Table 4.3 in the quarterly series the 'Control of Immigration: Quarterly Statistical Summary, United Kingdom'. Settlement data for third quarter 2010 are scheduled for publication on 25 November 2010.
	Home Office statistical publications are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html
	
		
			  Grants of  settlement( 1,)(  2, )( 3)  by selected category of grant, excluding EEA and Swiss nationals( 4) , Q3 2008 to Q2 2010 
			  Number of persons 
			   2008  2009( 5,6)  2010( 6) 
			  Broad category of grant  Q3  Q4  Q1  Q2  Q3  Q4  Q1  Q2 
			 Employment with a work permit after five years 5,585 5,710 6,510 6,140 6,605 6,165 7,675 5,915 
			 spouses and dependants 7,360 8,185 9,110 9,245 9,835 8,620 11,060 7,965 
			  O f which: 
			 spouses 3,030 3,350 3,655 3,685 4,105 3,660 4,605 3,255 
			 dependants 4,335 4,840 5,455 5,560 5,730 4,965 6,455 4,710 
			 (1) Figures rounded to the nearest five and may not sum to the totals shown because of independent rounding. (2) Includes reconsideration cases and the outcome of appeals. (3) May include a small number of cases in which a decision is recorded twice, where an individual has dual nationality. (4) Data exclude dependants of EEA and Swiss nationals in confirmed relationships granted permanent residence. (5) Revised figures. (6) Provisional figures.

Audit Commission

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 7 September 2010,  Official Report, column 179W, on Audit Commission, what steps his Department is taking to develop a mutual model for the Audit Commission; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  whether he has assessed the merits of establishing a fully mutual model to undertake the functions of the Audit Commission; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Neill: As my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State told the House on 7 September 2010,  Official Report, column 179-186, we will consider a range of options for moving the Audit Commission's in-house practice to the private sector. The Government would be happy to see a mutual set up by existing Audit Commission staff, if this proves to be appropriate and practical. The Commission has appointed Gareth Davies as Managing Director of its audit practice and he is leading the practice's work on these matters.

Charities: Finance

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the monetary value of local authority funding for  (a) all charities,  (b) charities working with children, young people and families in each year since 2007-08; if he will make an estimate of the equivalent figure for (i) 2011-12, (ii) 2012-13, (iii) 2013-14 and (iv) 2014-15; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Stunell: The latest figures (for 2007-08 from the NCVO's UK Civil Society Almanac 2010) show that local authorities fund the voluntary sector to the value of £6.6 billion. Data on funding to charities working with children, young people and families is not held centrally.
	Spending decisions are, and will continue to be, a matter for local authorities. We have a rich diversity of voluntary organisations, charities, faith groups, co-operatives, social enterprises and local housing trusts-all of who already make a huge contribution to local life. The big society means using their potential and involving them even more in delivering what people want. I do not expect local authorities to respond by passing on disproportionate cuts to other service providers, especially the voluntary sector.
	I also draw the attention of my hon. Friend to my Department's press release of 14 October 2010 on the valuable role of the voluntary sector, a copy of which I have placed in the Library of the House.

Homelessness

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what his most recent estimate is of the number of people who are homeless  (a) nationally,  (b) in London,  (c) in Lambeth borough and  (d) in Streatham constituency;
	(2)  what definition of homelessness his Department uses for the purposes of compiling statistical information.

Grant Shapps: Statutory homelessness data collected includes the number of households accepted by local housing authorities as eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need, and therefore owed a main homelessness duty (to secure that suitable accommodation is available). If a settled home is not immediately available, the authority must secure temporary accommodation until a settled home becomes available and this information is also collected. These are published by the Department in the quarterly Statistical Release on Statutory Homelessness via the CLG website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingresearch/housingstatistics/housingstatisticsby/homelessnessstatistics/publicationshomelessness/
	The following table gives the most recent figures for households accepted as owed a main homelessness duty and households in temporary accommodation in England, London and Lambeth.
	
		
			  Quarter 2, 2010 
			  Number and rate per 1,000 households 
			   Households accepted as owed a main homelessness duty during the quarter  Households in temporary accommodation at the end of the quarter 
			 Lambeth 222 (1.8) 1,546 (12.8) 
			 London 2,300 (0.7) 37,910 (11.9) 
			 England 10,100 (0.5) 50,400 (2.3) 
			  Notes: 1. Figures are provisional. 2. Totals may not equal the sum of components because of rounding. 3. Lambeth figure is as reported. London and England figures include estimates for any non-responding authorities.  Source: P1E quarterly returns. 
		
	
	Information is also collected on rough sleeping. Since 1998, only councils in areas with a known, or suspected, rough sleeping problem were required to conduct an official rough sleeper count-which meant that only 70 councils submitted information to central Government. Figures published in July 2010 showed that under this previous method, on any given night there were 440 rough sleepers in England. However, when the remaining 256 councils provided estimates of the scale of the problem in their areas, this added a further estimated 807 rough sleepers-taking the national total to 1,247 rough sleepers on any given night. These figures are published on the CLG website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/statistics/roughsleepingcount2010
	Under new guidance, all councils across England will now provide information on rough sleeping. This move follows consultation with homelessness charities and councils and is aimed at getting a clearer picture of the scale of the problem in each area so more targeted support can be provided to some of the most vulnerable in society.
	The following table gives the street count and estimates in England, London and Lambeth for 2010.
	
		
			   Street counts  Estimates  Total 
			 Lambeth 9 - 9 
			 London 241 76 317 
			 England 440 807 1,247 
			  Notes: 1. The 2010 local authority street counts were carried out between January 2009 and May 2010. 2. Local authorities who did not carry out a count submitted a single figure estimate of the number of people sleeping rough on any given night as at June 2010. 
		
	
	The figures provided in this answer are available both in the Library and via the CLG website at the links provided.
	The Department does not collect data on homelessness at parliamentary constituency level.

Local Government

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he expects to introduce proposals to devolve powers and responsibility to town and parish councils; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Neill: Town and parish councils already have a wide range of powers at their disposal. In the forthcoming Localism Bill we intend to make provision to achieve our commitments to devolve further powers to local government and communities, including the area of parish involvement in neighbourhood planning.

Local Government

David Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans he has to enable local authorities to reintroduce the committee system.

Bob Neill: As set out in 'The Coalition: Our Programme for Government', we are committed to allow councils to return to the committee system should they wish to. We intend to provide for this in our forthcoming Localism Bill.

Voluntary Organisations: Newton Abbot

Anne-Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding his Department allocated to voluntary groups in Newton Abbot in each year since 2005.

Bob Neill: The Department's records do not hold information about grant payments to the voluntary sector by geographical area so the information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, if you would like to provide us with a list of voluntary groups in Newton Abbot we could let you know the grant payments made over the period. In addition, as part of the Department's transparency agenda, grant spending over £500 for 2008-09 and 2009-10 can be found online on my Department's website.

Private Members' Bill

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Leader of the House if he will bring forward proposals to provide more time for the committee stage of private Members' Bills.

George Young: I am giving consideration to how the time available for private Members' Bills in the current long Session should be increased, including time available for committee stage.

Referendums: Scotland

Grahame Morris: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether he made an assessment of the findings of the 2007 Gould report on Scottish elections before selecting 5 May 2011 as the date for the proposed referendum on the voting system for election to the House of Commons.

Mark Harper: The Gould Report identified a number of contributory factors which led to a high number of spoilt ballot papers in 2007. Most of these, such as the introduction of a new electoral system and combined ballot papers, will not be in play on 5 May 2011.
	The Report also recognised that there are benefits to combining elections such as reducing cost, achieving higher turnout and minimising disruption to voters. In evidence to the Scottish Affairs Committee on 21 September 2010, Mr Ron Gould said:
	"I do not believe that the same factors which led to voter confusion and the large number of rejected ballots at the last Scottish Parliamentary and Municipal elections would arise if both the (Scottish) Parliamentary Election and the Referendum were held on the same date. The marking of yes or no on a referendum ballot is much easier to understand and carry out than the requirements of marking an STV ballot."
	The Electoral Commission will be responsible for running the referendum. After the Bill was introduced, the Commission released a statement on 22 July 2010 announcing that they believe it should be possible to deliver the different polls if the key risks are properly managed. We are working closely with the Electoral Commission and others to maximise the benefits of combination and ensure the polls on 5 May 2011 are delivered effectively.

Departmental Manpower

David Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many  (a) officials and  (b) external advisers are working on the forthcoming green paper on special educational needs and disabilities.

Sarah Teather: Work on the Green Paper on special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) is being led by three full-time equivalent officials. These officials are working closely with colleagues in the Department for Education's SEND division, as well as officials from across the Department and across Government.
	This Division also employs one professional adviser who supports the Division's overall activity, which includes advising on aspects of the Green Paper.
	To inform the Green Paper, the Department has sought a number of views through informal discussions with experts, voluntary organisations, local authorities, teachers, parents and a call for views consultation.

Sixth Form Education: Capital Investment

Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he plans to allocate capital funding to sixth form colleges funded by the Young People's Learning Agency at the same level as that allocated to further education colleges through the Train to Gain programme for the purposes of renovating buildings and facilities.

Tim Loughton: holding answer 16 September 2010
	The Capital Review announced on 5 July 2010, in the context of the budget pressures and emerging policy, is examining the Department's capital programmes including capital funding to sixth form colleges, and will make recommendations on the future shape of all its capital investment for the next spending review period and beyond. It will conclude its work by the end of the calendar year. We intend to determine capital allocations as soon as possible thereafter. The Review team has been tasked with exploring new approaches to school building, and ensuring investment is focused on areas in the greatest need - those educational establishments in most disrepair, to deal with the urgent demand for primary school places from rising birth rates, and ensure that future capital investment represents good value for money and strongly supports the Government's ambitions to raise standards and tackle disadvantage.

Unemployment

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what definition of a workless household his Department uses.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your question concerning what definition of a workless household the Department for Work and Pensions uses. 17958.
	Official statistics on workless households are produced by the Office for National Statistics. The definition of a workless household is a household that includes at least one person aged 16 to 64 and where no individuals aged 16 and over are in employment.

Departmental Pay

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much was paid to officials in his Department and its non-departmental public bodies in bonuses and other payments in addition to salary in each year since 1997; how many officials received such payments; and what the monetary value was of the largest 20 payments made in each such year.

John Penrose: The Department makes bonus payments to its staff for two purposes: (a) special bonuses to reward outstanding contributions in particularly demanding tasks or situations; and (b) performance related bonuses to reward highly successful performance over a whole year. Awards were made in line with Cabinet Office principles and guidelines on performance-related pay.
	Such information that is available is shown in the tables.
	
		
			  Financial year  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10 
			 Number of staff awarded special bonuses and performance related bonuses 206 168 235 327 371 420 391 
			 Total all bonuses (£) 206,403 215,285 293,241 392,114 520,713 582,167 608,587 
		
	
	
		
			  £ 
			  Largest 20 bonuses of any type  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10 
			 1 8,500 7,000 12,000 14,000 13,000 35,000 49,500 
			 2 6,000 7,000 6,000 10,000 11,000 30,000 40,000 
			 3 6,000 7,000 6,000 10,000 10,000 15,000 12,500 
			 4 5,000 6,000 5,000 10,000 10,000 13,500 12,500 
			 5 4,500 5,000 5,000 8,250 10,000 13,500 12,500 
			 6 4,500 5,000 5,000 8,250 9,500 12,000 12,000 
			 7 4,500 5,000 5,000 8,000 8,500 11,000 11,000 
			 8 4,500 4,000 4,000 8,000 8,500 11,000 10,000 
			 9 4,000 3,500 4,000 8,000 8,500 11,000 10,000 
			 10 4,000 3,500 4,000 6,500 8,500 11,000 10,000 
			 11 4,000 3,400 4,000 6,065 8,500 11,000 10,000 
			 12 3,500 3,000 4,000 6,000 8,500 9,000 10,000 
			 13 2,716 3,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 9,000 10,000 
			 14 2,500 2,500 4,000 5,000 7,500 7,000 10,000 
			 15 2,500 2,500 4,000 5,000 5,800 7,000 9,500 
			 16 2,500 2,500 4,000 4,500 5,800 7,000 8,000 
			 17 2,500 2,500 3,500 4,500 5,800 7,000 8,000 
			 18 1,750 2,500 3,500 4,500 5,800 7,000 8,000 
			 19 1,700 2,500 3,500 4,000 5,800 7,000 8,000 
			 20 1,700 2,500 3,000 3,750 5,800 7,000 8,000 
		
	
	The Department does not hold information prior to 2003.
	Data on payments by non-departmental public bodies is not held centrally and I will ask the chief executive of each body to write to the hon. Member.

Departmental Pay

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what allowances and payments in addition to salary were available to officials in his Department and its non-departmental public bodies in each year since 1997; and what the monetary value was of payments and allowances of each type in each such year.

John Penrose: The types of allowances that are paid to staff in the Department and their monetary values are shown in the table. Allowances are paid on a monthly basis in addition to basic salaries.
	Data on allowances or payments by non-departmental public bodies is not held centrally and I will ask the Chief Executive of each body to write to you.
	
		
			   Allowance  t ype  Total a mount (£) 
			 2003-04 Recruitment and retention allowance 106,464 
			 2004-05 Recruitment and retention allowance 125,010 
			  Specialist allowance 9,455 
			 2005-06 Recruitment and retention allowance 89,820 
			  Specialist allowance 61,464 
			 2006-07 Recruitment and retention allowance 84,666 
			  Specialist allowance 101,886 
			 2007-08 Recruitment and retention allowance 86,211 
			  Specialist allowance 108,983 
			 2008-09 Recruitment and retention allowance 106,736 
			  Specialist allowance 101,478 
			 2009-10 Recruitment and retention allowance 97,376 
			  Specialist allowance 123,090 
			  Private office allowance 25,669 
		
	
	The Department does not hold information prior to 2003.

Departmental Sick Leave

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport for how many days on average his Department's staff in each pay grade were absent from work as a result of ill health in 2009-10.

John Penrose: The table shows the average number of working days lost due to ill-health in my Department in 2009-10.
	
		
			  Civil service pay grade  Average working days lost by staff year 
			 AA/AO 23.1 
			 EO 5.6 
			 HEO/SEO 4.0 
			 G7 1.9 
			 G6 3.3 
			 SCS 1.4 
			 Total 4.7

Digital Economy Act 2010

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what responsibilities he has for oversight of the discharge by Ofcom of its responsibilities under the Digital Economy Act 2010 in respect of sectors which are the policy responsibility of the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Vaizey: Ofcom operates independently of government and is responsible for its own compliance with its statutory duties. Ofcom is, however, directly accountable to Parliament.

Appointments Commission

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his most recent assessment is of the performance of the Appointments Commission.

Simon Burns: The Appointments Commission continues to effectively carry out their role in making national health service public appointments.

Care Quality Commission

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of setting up the Care Quality Commission; and what estimate he has made of the proportion of the care home information gathered through its registration process which had already been collected by former social care bodies.

Paul Burstow: In 2006, the Department announced that the costs of setting up the Care Quality Commission (CQC) would be in the region of £140 million. The Department has since estimated that the costs of setting up the Care CQC, and winding-up predecessor organisations, were approximately £140 million between 2006-07 and 2009-10.
	CQC is independent, and is responsible for developing and implementing its own methodology for assessing providers. It inherited information from its predecessor body, the Commission for Social Care Inspection, and supplemented this with information to assess provider compliance with regulations and make decisions for registration under the Health and Social Care Act 2008. It is not possible to make an estimate of the proportion of registration information gathered by previous bodies.

Dental Services

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of transferring the commissioning of NHS primary dental care to the NHS Commissioning Board, as referred to in his Department's White Paper on Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS.

Simon Burns: The White Paper "Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS" set out proposals for fundamental changes to the ways that the national health service is structured and run. The precise costs of transferring the commissioning of NHS primary dental care to the NHS Commissioning Board will not be known until the new organisations that will underpin the new system have been designed in more detail.
	Four consultations relating to how the new organisations should be designed-specifically covering "transparency on outcomes, liberating the NHS: local democratic legitimacy in health" and "commissioning for patients and regulating healthcare providers"-have recently closed and once the results of these have been analysed we will publish the costs of the new system in an impact assessment.
	A further two consultations on other aspects of reform set out in the White Paper-"specifically an information revolution" and "greater choice and control" have recently been launched and will close in January.

Dental Services

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which body will be responsible for commissioning salaried primary care dental services under the proposals in his Department's White Paper on Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS.

Simon Burns: Under the proposals set out in the White Paper "Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS", the NHS Commissioning Board would, subject to the outcome of consultation, be responsible for commissioning primary care dental services. Further details will be available at the introduction of the Health Bill into Parliament, which will follow later this year.

Dental Services

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what role consultants in dental public health will have in commissioning NHS dentistry under the proposals in his Department's White Paper on Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS;
	(2)  what role dental practice advisers will have in the structure of the NHS under the proposals in his Department's White Paper on Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS.

Simon Burns: The White Paper "Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS" refers to creation of a NHS Commissioning Board and a new Public Health Service, to integrate and streamline existing health improvement. The NHS Commissioning Board will take on responsibility for commissioning national health service primary dental services, while the primary care trusts' responsibilities for local health improvement will transfer to local authorities. Local authorities will employ the Director of Public Health jointly appointed with the Public Health Service. To discharge their functions and responsibilities, both the Public Health Service in local authorities and dental service commissioners will need appropriate advice and input from dental public health consultants, dental practice advisers and their teams, working with local clinicians.

Departmental Carbon Emissions

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has made an estimate of the change in the level of carbon dioxide emissions from his Department since May 2010; and what steps he plans to take to meet his Department's target of reducing such emissions by 10 per cent. by May 2011.

Simon Burns: The latest data on performance of each Department towards the 10% reduction target is publicly available on the:
	www.data.gov.uk
	website:
	http://data.gov.uk/departmental-performance-co2-emissions-reduction-date
	Performance data is reported monthly, within four weeks of the month end. The next data release (to the end of September 2010) will be available by the end of October 2010, and similarly published to:
	www.data.gov.uk
	The Department's current estimate of reduction in the level of carbon emissions since May 2010 is just above the 10% required.
	Projects under way that will help us meet our target include:
	replacing our desktop personal computers with network interface boxes and centralising storage;
	decommissioning a number of information technology servers;
	reduction of air-conditioning requirement in server rooms;
	impact of new lighting system on the 6(th) floor of Skipton House;
	impact of new ventilation and air-conditioning system on the 2(nd) floor of Richmond House;
	introduction of Voltage Optimisation;
	replacement of lamps;
	installing sub meters in one building;
	replace Air Handling Unit Fan assembly; and
	the move of the Medicines Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to a more efficient building.
	The target of reducing emissions by 10% applies to the three Headquarter buildings in which the Department has direct responsibility for energy use, and those occupied by NHS Connecting for Health and the Medicines Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.

General Practitioners: Finance

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he plans to take to ensure that payments to GP practices for the improvement of premises are maintained at adequate levels under his proposals to pay such practices according to a formula based on capitation and patient list size.

Simon Burns: The Government are committed to working towards fair and equitable arrangements for al elements of general practitioner funding, including support for premises.
	We will discuss these issues with the profession over the coming period.

Hepatitis C: Ealing

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of hepatitis C were diagnosed in Ealing, Southall constituency in each year since 2007.

Anne Milton: Data collected by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) does not collect laboratory confirmed cases of hepatitis C by constituency as this is not a routine data output.
	However, the HPA published hepatitis C diagnosed cases by region for each year from 1995 to 2008 in its annual report(1). The totals for London region were 1,016 cases (2007) and 972 cases (2008).
	A total of 8,812 cases of hepatitis C were reported in 2009 in England and Wales(2).
	Regional data will be available shortly.
	(1) HPA. Hepatitis C in the UK. 2009 Annual report. Table 2: Laboratory reports of hepatitis C infection by English region: 1995-2008.
	(2) HPA. Hepatitis in England and Wales: annual reports for 2009. Health Protection Report 4(34) (27 August 2010).

Independent Review Panels: Performance

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what recent assessment he has made of the performance of the Independent Review Panel on the Advertising of Medicines;
	(2)  what recent assessment he has made of the performance of the Independent Review Panel for the Classification of Borderline Products;
	(3)  what recent assessment he has made of the performance of the Herbal Medicines Advisory Committee;
	(4)  what his most recent assessment is of the performance of the Advisory Committee on Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infections;
	(5)  what his most recent assessment is of the performance of the Committee on the Safety of Devices.

Simon Burns: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) keeps the assessment of the performance of both the Herbals Medicines Advisory Committee and the Advisory Board on the Registration of Homeopathic Products under continuous review and holds regular meetings with its chairmen. In addition annual appraisals of the respective chairmen are held. This process will remain unchanged.
	The Independent Review Panel on the Advertising of Medicines and the Independent Review Panel for the classification of Borderline Products meet infrequently and as a result no formal recent assessment has been made of performance. Reports on the activities of these bodies are approved by Ministers and presented to Parliament annually.
	MHRA holds regular meetings with the chairman of the Committee on the Safety of Devices to review progress and effectiveness of the advice given and the actions proposed by this committee.

Higher Education: Admissions

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  how many people resident in each parliamentary constituency applied to each higher education institution in each of the last five years for which information is available;
	(2)  how many people resident in each parliamentary constituency applied to enter an undergraduate course at each higher education institution in each of the last five years for which information is available;
	(3)  how many undergraduate students normally resident in each parliamentary constituency were accepted to each higher education institution in each of the last five years for which information is available.

David Willetts: Information on applicants and accepted applicants by individual institution is held by UCAS. UCAS do not issue data by higher education institutions as this is the subject of a confidentiality agreement between UCAS and the institutions.
	Information on the total number of applicants and accepted applicants, produced by UCAS, will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Higher Education: Curriculum

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what plans he has for the future of the funding currently allocated by regional development agencies to strategically important and vulnerable subjects;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effects of the implementation of the proposed reform of non-departmental public bodies on levels of support for strategically important and vulnerable subjects;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the likely change in the level of funding for strategically important and vulnerable subjects in each of the next three years;
	(4)  what estimate he has made of the likely change in the level of funding for high-cost science subjects in each of the next three years;
	(5)  what assessment he has made of the contribution of strategically important and vulnerable subjects to economic growth;
	(6)  what estimate he has made of the likely change in the level of funding for each strategically important and vulnerable subject as a proportion of the total budget allocated to such subjects in each of the next three years;
	(7)  what factors he took into account when allocating funding for strategically important and vulnerable subjects;
	(8)  what proportion of the cost of courses in strategically and important vulnerable subjects in universities was covered by  (a) central government and  (b) tuition fees in the most recent period for which figures are available.

David Willetts: The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) is charged with distributing teaching grant to higher education institutions according to a methodology it determines. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State plays no part in the discharge of that function. He cannot direct the amount of grant to be awarded to any particular subject or institution. In broad terms the funding system is designed to recognise the relative costs of teaching. Each subject is allocated to one of four price groups A to D. The range of teaching grant per full time equivalent undergraduate student ranges from £15,804 in group A to £3,951 in group D. In addition institutions receive fees of up to £3,290 per student per year. So for example the fee would cover 45% of the cost of a price group D course such as business studies, whereas the fee would cover 17% of the cost of a group A course such as medicine. Once allocated to a price group all subjects in that are treated equally in terms of the allocation of core teaching grant.
	The right hon. Member the then Secretary of State wrote to HEFCE in 2004 seeking advice on which subjects are of such national and strategic importance that without additional support they may not survive through the usual operation of the market in student applications. Those courses currently identified as Strategically Important or Vulnerable Subjects (SIVS) are:
	Chemistry, Engineering, Maths and Physics
	Modern Foreign Languages and some area studies
	Quantitative Social Science
	Islamic studies
	Advances in science and technology are key to UK economic growth and social prosperity. To achieve long-term progress, the UK relies on a strong base of science and engineering skills at all levels within the population and a healthy and thriving research base.
	However, it should be noted that not all Science Technology Engineering and Maths courses (STEM) are designated as SIVS. Equally SIVS status does not necessarily indicate that a subject is expensive to deliver. Foreign languages and maths are in price group C for example.
	HEFCE has chosen to support SIVS through a series of projects and initiatives aimed at maintaining entry to these subjects and building capacity in the higher education sector. The total amount of funding since 2005/06 is £350 million.
	Future funding will be dependent upon the outcome of the spending review for higher education and the Regional Development Agencies. It will inform my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State's annual grant letter to HEFCE which will set the level of funding for 2011-12 and the allocations to the Regional Development Agencies in the same period.
	The Browne Review recommended that future public funding of higher education should concentrate on priority subject areas. In addition it recommended changes to the bodies currently funding and regulating the system. The Government will respond to these and the other recommendations in its forthcoming Higher Education White Paper.

Paternity Leave

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 13 October 2010,  Official Report, column 335W, on paternity leave, what criteria his Department will use to determine whether shared paternal leave works for businesses; what method his Department used to estimate the proportion of small businesses to be affected by the introduction of additional paternity leave; what criteria were used to determine whether a small business would be affected; and when his Department proposes to  (a) open and  (b) close the consultation on its proposals for additional paternity leave.

Edward Davey: We will consult in due course on plans to introduce shared parental leave, listening to employers and employer representatives' views on how we can best meet the needs of affected businesses.
	A full impact assessment, including methodology used to calculate the proportion of small businesses that would be affected by additional paternity
	leave, is available at
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/employment-matters/docs/09-1209-consultation-doc-paternity.pdf
	Additional paternity leave regulations came into effect in April 2010 for parents of children due on or after 3 April 2011. We have no further proposals on additional paternity leave on which to consult.

Secondary Education

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many  (a) sixth form colleges,  (b) general further education colleges,  (c) land-based colleges,  (d) art, design and performing art colleges and  (e) special designated colleges offer courses to 14 and 15 year olds.

John Hayes: Information is not currently collected centrally on the number of further education institutions which offer courses to 14 and 15-year-olds. However, data are available on the number of Government-funded learners aged 14 and 15-years-old participating in further education institutions in 2008/09.
	The following table shows the number of further education institutions with learners aged either 14 or 15-years-old participating on Government-funded courses in 2008/09.
	
		
			  Provider type  Number of providers 
			 Sixth form college 60 
			 General further education college (including tertiary) 201 
			 Special college-agricultural and horticultural college 14 
			 Special college-art and design college - 
			 Specialist designated college 1 
			  Notes:  1. Age is based on learner age at the start of the academic year  (31 August 2008).  2. Information in this table is based on all Government-funded learners. 3. These data include FE, apprenticeships/work-based learning, adult safeguarded learning and university for industry funding streams.   Source:  Individualised Learner Record.

Public Expenditure

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to publish equality impact assessments undertaken by his Department as part of the comprehensive spending review; and if he will make a statement.

Danny Alexander: holding answer 20 October 2010
	 On 20 October 2010 the Treasury published an overview of the impact of the spending review on groups protected by equalities legislation.
	However, the Treasury does not dictate the details of how other Departments will live within their settlements-this will be for Departments to decide themselves. Other Government Departments will ensure that equality considerations are taken into account when these decisions are made. Decisions about the publication of equality impact assessments are also for individual departments to make.
	With regard to its own spending, the Treasury will ensure that equalities are taken into account as policies are developed following the spending review, in line with its legal obligations.

Employment Schemes: Dartford

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Dartford constituency participated in  (a) a community taskforce and  (b) work-focussed training programme in the last 12 months.

Chris Grayling: Within the constituency of Dartford between November 2009 and the end of July 2010:
	(a) 20 people started the Community Task Force;
	(b) 10 people started the Young Person's Guarantee Work Focussed Training and 20 people started Routes into Work Pre-Employment Training.
	 Note
	Published official statistics are only currently available up until the end of July 2010.

Pensions

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent consideration he has given to the adequacy of pension providers' management of environmental, social and governance risks.

Steve Webb: The Government fully supports the highest standards of corporate governance and ethical behaviour and considers such high standards can contribute to better company performance by helping a board discharge its duties in the best interests of shareholders. The Government continues to keep under review the role of pension scheme trustees in the governance process and, in particular, the adequacy of the rules that apply to the investment of scheme funds.

Poverty: Redcar

Ian Swales: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what proportion of  (a) people,  (b) children and  (c) pensioners in Redcar constituency were living in poverty in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how many children were living in relative poverty in Redcar constituency in each year since 1997.

Maria Miller: Estimates of the number and proportion of people, children and pensioners living in relative poverty across the UK are published in Households Below Average Income (HBAI). This uses household income adjusted (or 'equivalised') for household size using various thresholds of low income. As they are based on survey data, poverty estimates published in HBAI only allow breakdowns to Government office region and analysis by parliamentary constituency is not possible. However, figures for the North East government office region are set out in Table 1, 2 and 3.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number in millions and percentage of people in relative poverty in the North East of England, Before Housing Costs (BHC) and After Housing Costs (AHC) 
			  Million (and %) of individuals 
			   Relative poverty 
			  Period  BHC  AHC 
			 1997-98 to 1999-2000 0.6 (26%) 0.8 (30%) 
			 1998-99 to 2000-01 0.6 (26%) 0.7 (29%) 
			 1999-2000 to 2001-02 0.6 (24%) 0.7 (27%) 
			 2000-01 to 2002-03 0.6 (23%) 0.7 (26%) 
			 2001-02 to 2003-04 0.6 (22%) 0.6 (24%) 
			 2002-03 to 2004-05 0.6 (22%) 0.6 (24%) 
			 2003-04 to 2005-06 0.5 (21%) 0.6 (23%) 
			 2004-05 to 2006-07 0.5 (21%) 0.6 (23%) 
			 2005-06 to 2007-08 0.5 (21%) 0.6 (24%) 
			 2006-07 to 2008-09 0.6 (22%) 0.6 (25%) 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Number in millions and percentage of children living in relative poverty in the North East of England, Before Housing Costs (BHC) 
			   Million (and %) of children 
			  Period  Relative poverty-BHC 
			 1997-98 to 1999-2000 0.2 (34%) 
			 1998-99 to 2000-01 0.2 (34%) 
			 1999-2000 to 2001-02 0.2 (30%) 
			 2000-01 to 2002-03 0.2 (32%) 
			 2001-02 to 2003-04 0.2 (30%) 
			 2002-03 to 2004-05 0.2 (31%) 
			 2003-04 to 2005-06 0.2 (28%) 
			 2004-05 to 2006-07 0.2 (28%) 
			 2005-06 to 2007-08 0.1 (28%) 
			 2006-07 to 2008-09 0.1 (28%) 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: Number in millions and percentage of pensioners living in relative poverty in the North East of England, After Housing Costs (AHC) 
			   Million (and %) of pensioners 
			  Period  Relative poverty-AHC 
			 1997-98 to 1999-2000 0.1 (31%) 
			 1998-99 to 2000-01 0.1 (31%) 
			 1999-2000 to 2001-02 0.1 (28%) 
			 2000-01 to 2002-03 0.1 (27%) 
			 2001-02 to 2003-04 0.1 (23%) 
			 2002-03 to 2004-05 0.1 (20%) 
			 2003-04 to 2005-06 0.1 (17%) 
			 2004-05 to 2006-07 0.1 (17%) 
			 2005-06 to 2007-08 0.1 (19%) 
			 2006-07 to 2008-09 0.1 (18%) 
			  Notes : 1. These statistics are based on the Households Below Average Income series, sourced from the Family Resources Survey. 2. All estimates are based on survey data and are therefore subject to uncertainty. Small differences should be treated with caution as these will be affected by sampling error and variability in non-response. 3. The reference period for Households Below Average Income figures are single financial years. Three survey years have been combined as regional single year estimates are subject to volatility. 4. The income measures used to derive the estimates shown employ the same methodology as the Department for Work and Pensions publication 'Households Below Average Income' (HBAI) series, which uses disposable household income, adjusted (or 'equivalised') for household size and composition-an income measure that acts as a proxy for the standard of living. 5. For the Households Below Average Income series, incomes have been equivalised using Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) modified equivalisation factors. 6. Numbers of adults and children in low-income households have been rounded to the nearest 100,000, while proportions have been rounded to the nearest percentage point. 7. Relative poverty is defined as the number (or percentage) of given group (all people, children, pensioners) living in households with less than 60% of contemporary median household income. 8. Poverty for all people is presented on both a BHC and AHC basis. Children poverty is presented on a BHC basis and pensioners poverty on an AHC basis. This takes account of the notion that housing costs reflect the standard of living of working age families (with children), while they do not for pensioners, nearly three quarters of whom own their own home and therefore gain value from it that is not captured by the corresponding low housing costs relative to the working age population. Considering pensioners' incomes compared to others after deducting housing costs allows for more meaningful comparisons of income between working age people and pensioners, and overtime.  Source: Households Below Average Income, DWP